Artificial tree limb tapering machine



Aug. 5, 1969 P. DIEFFENBACH I ARTIFICIAL TREE LIMB TAP'ERING MACHINEOriginal Filed Aug. 5, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FmM STEAM SUPPLY FIG. 5

PERCY" DIEFFENBACH FIG. 3

5, 1969 P. DIEFFENBACH 3,458,893

| ARTIFICIAL TREE LIMB TAPERING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 5, 1966 2Sheets-Shut 2 INVENTOR PERCY D\EFFENBACH United States Patent 3,458,893ARTIFICIAL TREE LIME TAPERING MACHINE Percy Dieifenbach, RD. 1,Oiyphant, Pa. 18447 Division of application Ser. No. 573,752, Aug. 3,1966,

now Patent No. 3,365,529, dated Jan. 23, 1968. Continuation-impart ofapplication Ser. No. 504,578, Oct. 24, 1965. This application Jan. 3,1968, Ser. No.

Int. or. am 3/00 U.S. (:1. 18-1 18 Claims This invention relates to amethod and apparatus for tapering the tip end of artificial Christmastree limbs or the like, and more particularly, to fully automated meansto provide the proper taper to the limb tip without matting the needlescarried thereon. This invention further relates to automatic means forproviding to a tapered or untapered limb assembly the proper bend at thetip and/or trunk inserting end with minimum matting to the needlescarried thereby.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 573,752 filedAug. 3, 1-966, now Patent No. 3,365,529 and is a continuation-in-part ofmy application Ser. No. 504,- 578 filed Oct. 24, 1965, now abandoned.

In the past several years, there have come into vogue artificialChristmas tree designs involving the use of multiple tree limbs carriedby a central tree trunk. The limbs may consist of main limb sections andcross-lims carried thereby which are formed of a pair of twisted wirescapturing precut, plastic filaments which, to a degree, simulate theneedles of the natural tree. The limbs are formed from what is known inthe industry as brush stock in which the captured filaments are of equallength and centrally positioned so that the ends of the filaments fanout in radial fashion at right angles to the axis of the limb. The brushstock is made in continuous fashion by feeding bristles between a pairof endless wires prior to twisting with brush stock being cut intoappropriate lengths for the limbs subsequent to twisting.

The brush stock is thus provided with a cylindrical configuration ofunvarying diameter. In a natural evergreen tree, the new needles at thetip of the limb are, of course, much shorter than the mature needlesinteriorly of the branch or limb tip. Thus, nature provides limbs havinga tip configuration in the form of a rounded or tapered cone.

In order to provide an artificial Christmas tree having the greatestaesthetic appeal to the purchasing public, it has been found desirableto taper each tip of the Christmas tree limb to provide a productclosely simulating an actual tree. Since the plastic needles, such asthose formed of polyvinyl chloride, have excellent elastic memory,merely mechanically deforming the filaments at the tip by bending themover from the radial position to an in-line position with the twistedwires, provides only momentary tapering. However, by subjecting them toincreased temperature of a level sufiicient to impair their elasticmemory, they will tend to remain in a deformed position, and uponsubsequent cooling, the elastic memory of the needle will allow them toremain in their inclined or inline position effecting a true taper tothe tip of the artificial tree limb.

While it is well known to heat plastic to momentarily alter the elasticmemory of the plastic material and while it is well known to deform thematerial in the heated condition, the problem with brush stock materialis that all known conventional means for deforming a portion of thebrush stock not only provides the desired deformation, but results incompletely matting those needles about and in line with the twistedwire, instead of providing the desired gentle taper in which theequi-radius filaments are inclined to an increasing degree toward theextremity of the tip.

in order to increase the aesthetic appeal of the artificial Christmastree of this type, the outer ends of a single tip or multiple tip branchassembly are conventionally bent upwardly in order to give maximumsymmetry and style to the tree design. Further, especially in caseswhere the tree is composed of limb assemblies having cross-limbsections, it is necessary to bend the inner end of the limb assembly,that is the point that is the end which extends into the drilled trunk,in a downward direction since it is the position of the bend at thepoint intermediate of the cross-limb attachment and the end insertedwithin the tree trunk, that prevents rotation of the limb assembly aboutthe drilled hole axis, which would most surely occur since the presenceof the cross-limb provides an imbalance to the multiple tip tree limbassembly.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a methodand apparatus for tapering the tip end of an artificial tree limbcomposed of precut, plastic filaments captured by a pair of twistedwires.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a completelyautomated apparatus for heating the tip sections of the Christmas treelimbs as they are being fed in a direction normal to the limb axis andtapering the tip without matting the same, prior to the cooling of thetip section.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus for tapering artificial Christmas tree limbs consisting ofprecut, plastic filaments captured by a pair of twisted wires which isapplicable to limb components having tips at one end, tips at both ends,or complete limb subassemblies involving one or more crosslimbs carriedby a main limb section, each having an inline tip section.

It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide acompletely automated apparatus for bending the limb ends and/or tips atsome angle, both for single or multiple tip limb assemblies as the limbsmove in serial fashion through the apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved fullyautomated Christmas tree limb bending apparatus in which the inner andtip ends of each limb assembly is uniformly bent without in any waymatting the plastic filaments carried by the limb assembly.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the fully automated apparatus of thepresent invention in a preferred embodiment.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1including a hood tending to retain the steam in the working area.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of a portion of the apparatus takenalong lines 33 of FIGURE 1 showing an artificial tree limb having onetip section in taper receiving position.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of an artificial Christmas tree limb having apair of opposed tip sections tapered in the manner of the subjectinvention.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of an artificial Christmas tree limb assemblyincluding a main limb section and a pair of diagonally directedcross-limbs after the tips have been tapered by the method of thepresent invention.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the fullyautomated apparatus of the present invention including means for bendingthe tip and inner end portions of a tapered Christmas tree limb.

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view of a portion of the apparatus shownin FIGURE 6, with a tree limb being bent at both ends.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view of a portion of the apparatus shownin FIGURE 7 taken about lines 8--8.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 7,taken about line 9--9.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a multiple tip artificial Christmastree limb prior to bending the tip and inner end sections at some angleto the main limb axis.

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of the same limb assembly, after passingthrough the limb bending section of the apparatus shown in FIGURES 6through 9 inclusive.

In general, the present invention is directed to a method of taperingthe outer end or tip of an artificial Christmas tree limb formed of aplurality of constant length, precut, plastic filaments captured 'by apair of twisted wires with the filament ends projecting radially of saidlimb and at right angles to the limb axis, said method comprising movinga series of spaced limbs while raising the temperature of the filamentsof the tip section to reduce their elastic memory, forcing the heatedfilaments away from their right angle, radial position to an increasinginclined position in a direction toward the tip extremity, and coolingof the heated, inclined filaments.

In a preferred form, the apparatus of the present invention consists ofconveyor means for moving spaced limbs, in sequential fashion, in adirection normal to the limb axis. The tips of the limb pass through thenip of a pair of cylindrical roller-type brushes which are driven inopposite directions tending to brush the filaments outwardly from theirright angle position to positions in line with the limb axis, whilesubjecting the filaments carried by the tip section to steam issuingfrom a series of jets positioned adjacent the 'brush nip area. Theoppositely driven, roller-type brushes have their in-line axes inclinedaway from the direction of brush movement so that the outermostfilaments of the tip section are in contact with the driven roller-typebrushes for the longest period of time and are thus inclined to agreater extent than the innermost filaments of the same tip section. Thetip section is thus provided with a gentle taper without attendantmatting.

In a preferred form, after the limb passes from the nip of thecylindrical roller-type brushes, the conveyor means continues to feedthe limbs in serial fashion through a bending section of the apparatuswherein a twisted endless belt which is frictionally driven by the\moving limbs themselves cause the tapered tip section or sections ofthe limb assembly to be bent at some angle relative to the longitudinalaxis of the main section of the limb. Simultaneously, opposed, spacednotched wheels engage the filament-free inner end of the limb assemblyand bend it in a positive manner to efie-ct an opposite bend to theinner end of each limb assembly.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown, in FIGURES 1 through 3, apreferred form of the present invention as applied to artificalChristmas tree limbs having one tip section only. At the upper end ofFIGURE 1, there is shown a container or hopper '10 which acts toreceive, in serial fashion, artificial Christmas tree limbs 12, the tipsection 14 of which has been tapered in a fully automatic manner by themachine or apparatus, indicated generally at 16. Each limb 12 is formedof precut, plastic filaments simulating the needles of a coniferousnatural tree. The filaments 18 are of equal length and are captured by apair of twisted wires 20 and held centrally thereof. The act of twistingand capturing the wires tends to fan the filaments 18 radially of thetwisted wires 20, with the fila' ments extending generally at rightangles to the axis of the limb. The method of producing the brush stockforming the 'basic material for my artificial Christmas tree designmaybe best seen in my copending application, Ser. No. 316,232, filedOct. 15, 1963, entitled Apparatus for Making Brushes, now United StatesPatent No. 3,223,454. It is noted that the limb section 12 ischaracterized by having a tip section in which the needles, in-

stead of extending radially at right angles to the axis of the limb, areinclined toward the extremity of the tip section at an increasing rateto effect the general taper which simulates, to the greatest degree, anatural tree limb.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises essentially a table 22in the form of an irregular rectangle which may be supported by a numberof table legs (not shown). Fixed to the table 22 in upstanding fashionare four spaced, vertical support members 24 which are provided withbearings 26. The bearings support transverse shafts 28 and 30 at thefront and rear of the table, respectively. Each shaft carriesappropriate pulleys 32 which act to support endless chains or belts 34,the top section of the endless belts being positioned slightly below apair of fixed guide members 36 in the form of strips suspended from acover or shroud member 38 by pendant support members 40. The rear shaft30 is suitably driven by an electric motor 42 through conventionalpulley and belt means 44. Thus, as long as the electric motor 42 is inoperation, the endless belts 44, which alternatively could be endlesschains, tends to sandwich the spaced limb members 12 between the endlessbelts and the fixed strip guides 36, whereby the limbs are movedfrictionally from the forward end of the machine toward hopper 10 fordischarge therein. Thus, the limbs are moved in in-line fashion in adirection normal to the axis of the limb with the tip section extendingoutwardly and to one side of the left-hand belt member 34.

The second important component of the present invention resides in themeans for effecting the desired taper to the tip section without mattingthe individual filaments as they are moved from a right angle radialposition to positions increasingly inclined. In this respect, the table22 is provided with a front L-shaped support bracket 46 and a rearL-shaped support bracket 48 which acts to support a pair of spaced,driven upper and lower shafts 50 and 52, as best seen in FIGURE 2. Thefront bracket member 46 includes a vertical plate section 54 which isprovided with suitable spaced apertures that receive the front ends ofshafts 50 and 52. The ends of the shaft carry washers 56 to preventaxial movement of the shaft but allow rotation about the shaft axis. Therear bracket member 58 is likewise provided with an upstanding platemember 58 which supports the shaft 50 and 52 in like manner. Each of theshafts 50 and 52 have coupled thereto elongated cylindrical brush typerollers 60 and 62, respectively, which extend the greater distance ofthe table and are in contact with each other at the nip area 64. Asecond drive motor 66 is supported (by means not shown) at the rear ofthe table and includes appropriate belt and pulley drive means 68 forrotating the upper brush 60 in a clockwise direction, as indicated inFIGURE 2 by the upper arrow. The cylindrical brush type rollers are inperipheral contact with each other allowing the lower brush assembly 62to be driven in a counterclockwise direction by the frictional contacttherebetween. However, positive drive means may be employed for rotatingthe lower cylindrical brush assembly 62 in a direction opposite to thatof the upper brush assembly at the same speed. It is noted that thebracket members 46 and 48 are not in line with the direction of movementof the limb element 12, as indicated by the straight arrow in FIGURE 1.Instead, the driven brush assembly is inclined outwardly away from thepoint of entry of the limb so that when the limb element element 12 ispositioned on the conveyor means of the front end of the machine, thetip section 14 of the limb is received within the nip 64 of therotating, cylindrical brush assembly, but as the limb moves rearwardlyon the conveyor means, the tip section 14 gradually moves out of brushroller contact. In this respect, it is, therefore, apparent that thefilaments carried by the extreme end of the tip section remain incontact with the rotating cylindrical brushes for a longer period oftime than do the interior filaments of the same tip section.

The two bracket members 46 and 48 serves a second function in that theysupport the third important element to the tree limb tapering apparatus.A hollow pipe member 70 which comprises a closed tube is supported byapertures formed in both of the vertical plate members 54 and 58 spacedoutwardly of the cylindrical brush assemblies. Plate 54 is provided withaperture 72 while plate 58 is provided with aperture 74 for receivingthe ends of the hollow pipe or tube 70. The pipe is provided with aseries of jet nozzles 76 at the forward end of the table, the nozzle 76being directed downwardly at a slight angle so that the fluid is ejectedinto the nip 64 or line of contact between the cylindrical brush members60 and 62. Steam, from a steam supply (not shown), passes throughconduit 80 to a fluid coupling 82 carried by the longitudinallyextending pipe 70, whereby steam is ejected through the individual,spaced nozzles 76 to the area of contact between the rotating brushassemblies. Valve means 78 may be suitably employed to control the steamissuing from the nozzles. The steam acts to heat the tip sections 14 ofthe brush assemblies as they pass between the driven cylindricalroller-type brushes at the forward end of the machine, whereupon theheated filaments lose their elastic memory and are compressed by thebrushing action of the roller-type brushes. If the axis of the brushassembly were in line with the direction of limb movement, all of theneedles in contact with the brush members would be deformed equally;that is, they would all lie generally in line with the limb axis in ahighly matted condition. Instead of providing a gentle taper, they wouldmerely change the position of the filament-type needlesfrom a radialposition to an in-line position. By having the axis of the brush rollerassembly at some slight angle away from the in-line position, thoseneedles at the extreme outer end of the tip section are held within thenip of the brushes for a longer period of time and are thus inclined toa greater angle with respect to their previous right angle radialPosition. With the forward end 84 of the brush assembly being heated bythe steam issuing from jet 76, the tip section 14 in passing into thenip area 64 has its filaments simultaneously pressed and heated. Almostinstantaneously, the filaments are heated to the degree necessary forthem to momentarily lose their elastic memory property. While they arenot heated to any appreciably greater degree as they move out toward theposition shown in FIGURE 1, the filaments themselves within the tipsection remain compressed between the brush rollers to a lesser orgreater degree and once they reach the position shown in FIGURE 1 andare cooled, they retain their inclined attitude to effect the soft taperindicated by the completed product within hopper 10.

Note further, in FIGURE 3, that the upper and lower roller-type brushes60 and 62 are themselves formed of stiff radial fibers 86 which tend tobrush out the needle filaments within limb tip section 14. Thus, the tipof Christmas tree limb 12 is actually brushed rather than beingcompressed and matted by hard surface rollers.

From FIGURE 3, is it also clearly evident how the brush assemblies areheated. The jet of steam 88 which issues from nozzles 76 carried by pipe70 permeates the area of nip 64 between the brush fibers 86 toeffectively heat the needle-like filaments 18 of the Christmas tree limbtip section 14. Pivotable cover or hood 38 tends to maintain steam inthe working area, but may be rotated about hinge 39 to provide accessfor repairs, etc. The ends of the machine are open to allow feeding anddischarge of a series of limbs to be tapered.

Reference to FIGURE 4 shows a branch or limb configuration 12' in whicha pair of brush roller assemblies and steam heating means positioned atsome angle on either side of the endless conveyor means acts tosimultaneously taper both ends to form dual tapered tip sections 14. Theapparatus performing this function is identical to that shown in FIGURES1 through 3 with the exception that duplicate heating and brushing meansare provided on each side of the endless conveyor means.

In FIGURE 5, an alternate form of Christmas tree limb 12" is providedwhich incorporates, in addition to the main limb section 15, a pair ofdiagonally directed cross-limbs 17. The main limb section and thediagonal crosslimb sections 17 have tip sections 14 lying in a commonplane. All of the tip sections are tapered simultaneously by passing thelimb assembly 12" through the apparatus of FIGURE 1 in the same manneras the single section Christmas tree limb 12.

It is contemplated that certain changes may be made While stillpracticing the invention, such as employing means other than a pair ofrotating brushes, positioned for rotation in the manner shown at someangle to the line of movement of the limb or steam jets acting to heatthe limb at the point of contact with the rotating brushes. Forinstance, rather than steam, heated air or heated liquid, such as water,may be used which may issue from the same type of jet discharge system.It is possible that air jets, etc., could be substituted for thebrushes, and by varying fluid velocity, the desired taper could beachieved.

Referring to FIGURES 6 through 9, there is shown an alternate embodimentof the present invention which involves, in addition to the fullyautomatic means for tapering the tip end of the series of artificialChristmas tree limbs passing through the apparatus, automatic means forcreating desirable bends to both the tip and inner end sections of eachof the series of limbs as they move through the automated apparatus. Inthis embodiment, table 122 of identical configuration to that shown inFIGURE 1 is provided with the same type of conveyor means in the form ofendless chains or belts 134, the top section of the endless belt beingpositioned slightly below a pair of fixed guide members 136 which act tocarry a series of multi-tip or single tip artificial Christmas treelimbs 112 from front to rear, in the direction of the arrow. The fixedguide members 136 are suspended from a cover or shroud member 138 bypendant support members 140'. The rear shaft carrying belts 134 issuitably driven by electric motor in the identical manner of theprevious embodiment. The endless belts acting in .COH- junction withstrip members 136 tend to sandwich the spaced limb elements 112therebetween, whereby the limbs are moved frictionally from the forwardend of the machine 141 toward the discharge end 133. Thus, identicallyto the previous embodiment, the limbs are moved in serial fashion in adirection normal to the axis of the limb assembly with the tip section114 extending away from the conveyor means on the outside of theleft-hand belt member 134. In this embodiment, a cylindrical roller typebrush assembly is positively driven by drive motor 166 with steam jets176 acting to heat the forward end 184 of the roller-type brushassembly. As in the previous embodiment, the upper brush type rolleracts in conjunction with a lower brush type roller (not shown), toeffect the desired taper to the tip end 114 of the Christmas tree limb112.

In the present embodiment additional means are provided for effecting adesired opposite bend to tapered tip section 114 of limb 112, and theinner end 115 of the same limb. The manner in which this is achievedinvolves the use of endless belt means indicated generally at 200,positioned on the outside of left-hand belt 134. In addition, positivelydriven bending means 202 is provided on the outside of the right-handbelt which operates on the filament-free section 115 of the tree limb.

A pair of belt pulley support members 204 depend from the upper shroudor cover 138 and act to support a horizontally extending shaft 206 whichcarries a first pulley member 208 for free rotation about a horizontalaxis. Spaced rearwardly therefrom, and in line with pulley 208, is asecond pulley 210 which is supported for free rotation about a verticalaxis by means of a generally vertical support member 212, fixed to thetop of table 122.

The vertical support member 212 carries shaft 214 which supports thepulley 210, slightly inclined from the horizontal as indicated best inFIGURE 9. An endless belt member 216 rides upon the peripheral surfaceof the two spaced pulleys 210 and 208. With the forward pulley 208mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis and positioned above theendless belt, and with the rearwardly disposed pulley 210 being belowthe conveyor belt 134, the belt is twisted and moves from a generallyhorizontal position at tangent point 220 with horizontally oriented,rearwardly disposed, pulley 210. Thus, as the unbent limb 112 emergesfrom the tapering means of the apparatus, the tip section 114 moves intocontact with the outer surface of the belt 216 in the vicinity of thetangential contact point 218, where the belt leaves the clockwiserotating pulley 208 (FIGURE 9). Since the belt is moving downwardly andat the same time changing from a generally horizontal position to avertical position, the tip end 114 of the tree limb must also benddownwardly as best indicated in FIGURE 7. As mentioned previously, it isthe frictional coupling between the belt 134 and each tree limb 112 thatcauses the limb to move from the front 131 to the rear 133 of theapparatus as the drive belts 134 are being positively driven by drivemotor 142.

The contact between the moving tip section 114 and the outer surface ofbelt 216 actually causes the belt 216 to move in the direction indicatedby arrow 222 (FIG- URE 9). The conveyor belt moves at the same speed asthe limb 112 since it is being moved thereby. This greatly reduces thetendency to mat any of the filaments in contact with the outer surfaceof the conveyor belt 216. Likewise, since the belt is changing itsorientation and is moving from a position above the plane of theconveyor means to a position below the plane of the conveyor means, thetip section must naturally bend downwardly in the manner indicated bestin FIGURE 7.

Since it is necessary to bend the inner end section 115 of the same limbin the opposite direction to the bend given to the outer tip section114, means are provided at 202 on the opposite side of the apparatus forautomatically achieving the same. The means 202 generally comprise upperand lower axially spaced, overlapped notched wheels or disks 230 and 232respectively which are positively driven in opposite directions bysuitable flexible cable drive means 234. A vertical support member 240acts to support both shaft 236 and 238 which carry respective notcheddisks 230, 232 at a desired rate of speed and in the proper direction asindicated in FIGURE 8. The upper disk 230 rotates in a counterclockwisedirection as seen in FIGURE 8, while the lower disk 232 rotates in aclockwise direction. The periphery of the upper disk at the bottomthereof is generally in line with the upper run of the conveyor belt136, which defines the plane of limb movement. The upper disk 230 isprovided with a series of spaced notches 242, the width and depth andspacing of which is coordinated with the diameter of the lower disk 232,the number, spacing, width and depth of its notches 244, and the speedof rotation of disk 232. They are driven in opposite directions by theflexible drive means 234 with the speed controlled by conventionalsupport and gear driving means 240. In this respect, the flexible drivemeans 234 is coupled directly to driven pulley 145 associated with thedriven conveyor belt 144. Therefore, both of the disks 230 and 232 arepositively driven in opposite directions at a speed which is coordinatedto the velocity of the conveyor belt 134 as they frictionally carry thespaced limbs 112.

The purpose of the upper disk 230 is merely to physically locate theinner end 115 of the limb assembly adjacent the bend point 117 while thebending is actually achieved by the smaller overlapped outer disk 232.As the conveyor means moves the inner end of the limb 115 not carryingfilaments into the nip area 246 between the slightly overlapped notcheddisks 230 and 232, the inner end 115 of the limb at point 119 will enterone of the notches 244 carried by lower disk 232 tending to bend theinner end section upwardly about bend point 117 just outside the notchedarea of contact with the larger upper disk 230. At the point of maximumbend, as shown in FIG- URE 8, the extent of the upward bend given to theinner tip section 115 of the twisted wire brush limb 112 is determinedby the axial spacing indicated at Y (FIGURE 7) between the two notcheddisks 230 and 232, as well as the extent of vertical overlap which isidentified as the distance X (FIGURE 8).

Obviously, instead of bending the tip section 114 of the tree limbdownwardly and the inner end upwardly as indicated in FIGURE 7, the beltassembly 200 and the counter-rotating disk assembly 202 may bepositioned in a different fashion with respect to the plane of theconveyor belt so as to provide up or down bending for either the tip orinner end section and to more or less of a degree than shown in theillustrated embodiment. Further while the embodiments of FIGURES 6through 9, inclusive, shows the tree limb bending means associated inconjunction with a tree limb tip tapering means, it is obvious that eachportion of the apparatus may be operated separately although, whenoperated simultaneously, the single apparatus greatly reduces the amountof manual labor necessary to produce artificial tree limb assemblieswhile providing maximum uniformity to the limb assemblies as they arebeing fed in serial fashion through the machine.

The manner in which the automated bending device changes theconfiguration for the limb assembly may be best seen by reference toFIGURES l0 and 11 which show, in perspective, a multiple tip artificialChristmas tree limb assembly prior to, and subsequent to, bending. Thetree limb assembly 312 employs three tips 314 formed by wrapping across-limb member 317 about a main limb element. With the exception ofthe inner end 315, the assembly is formed of twisted wires which capturefilaments therebetween in conventional artificial Christmas tree limbfashion. As the christmas tree limbs of this type move serially throughthe machine, they are bent to the configuration shown in FIGURE 11. Thetip ends 314 are bent downwardly about bend points 321, spaced slightlyfrom wrap point 323. The inner end 315 of the multiple tip limb assemblyis bent upwardly about bending point 317. The use of the terms upwardlyand downwardly are, of course, relative, since in actual operation, thelimb assembly 312 is inverted, when coupled to the tree trunk so thatthe tip sections 314 actually bend upwardly and the main limb sectionbends downwardly after it emerges from a drilled hole in the tree trunk.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in formand details may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for tapering the tip end of artificial Christmas tree limbsformed of constant length, precut plastic filaments captured by a pairof twisted wires with the filaments normally projecting radially of thelimb at right angles to the limb axis comprising; means for moving aseries of spaced limbs along a path through said apparatus, means forraising the temperature of those filaments within the tip section ofeach limb during transport to reduce their elastic memory, means forbending said heated filaments away from their right angle, radialposition to a position generally in line with the axis of said limb andtoward said tip extremity, and means for maintaining those heatedfilaments at the tip extremity in their in-line position for a longerperiod of time than those heated filaments spaced inwardly thereof,whereby, upon cooling, said limb is provided with a tip sectioncharacterized by a full taper rather than mere in-line matting of saidtip section filaments.

2. Apparatus for tapering the tip section of artificial Christmas treelimbs formed of constant length, precut, plastic filaments capturedcentrally of a pair of twisted wires with the filaments normallyprojecting radially of said twisted wires at right angles to the limbaxis, said apparatus comprising: heating means for raising thetemperature of said filaments within the tree limb tip section to reducethe elastic memory thereof, brushing means for brushing the heatedfilaments of said tip section from their right angle radial position topositions generally in line with the axis of the limb prior to coolingof the tip section filaments, and conveyor means for moving said tipfilaments relative to said heating means and said brushing means, and incontact with said brushing means to effect tapering of said tip.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said conveyor means movessaid series of limbs in a direction generally normal to the limb axis,and said brushing means comprises; a pair of cylindrical brush-typerollers, means for driving said rollers in opposite directions aboutrespective axes, and means for inclining the longitudinal axis of saidpair of brush-type rollers slightly away from the line of movement ofsaid conveyor means, whereby said limb tip is captured within the nipbetween said brush-type rollers in moving on said conveyor means withthe extreme tip filaments remaining in contact with the brush-typerollers for a longer period of time than the tip filaments spacedinwardly thereof.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said heating meansconstitutes a plurality of fluid jets positioned adjacent said brushtype rollers with the heated jet efiluent directed toward the area ofthe nip between the rollers to effectively heat the tip section of eachlimb.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said conveyor meanscomprises a pair of spaced, endless belts and fixed guide meansoverlying the upper belt surface and spaced slightly therefrom wherebysaid guide member acts to frictionally maintain said limb on saidendless belt as said limb moves through the apparatus at right angles tothe axis of said limb.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said heating meanscomprises a hollow tube positioned on the opposite side of said rollerbrush assembly from said cylindrical brush type rollers from saidconveyor means, in line with the nip formed therebetween, a plurality ofspaced fluid nozzles coupled to said tube and having discharge openingsangled toward the line of contact between said rotating brush typerollers and means for delivering steam to said hollow tube.

7. Apparatus for automatically bending an end of an artificial Christmastree limb at some angle to the axis of the main limb section comprising:conveyor means for moving a series of spaced artificial Christmas treelimbs in a direction generally normal to the limb axis, an endless belt,means for mounting said belt in the path of limb movement and for beltmovement generally in line with said conveyor means with one end of saidbelt positioned above the plane of limb movement and the other end ofsaid belt positioned below said plane whereby, as a result of contactbetween each limb and said belt, the end portion of each limb is bent atsome angle to the axis of the main limb section.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the forward end of saidendless belt is positioned above the plane of limb movement and therearward end of said belt is positioned below said plane to effectdownward bending of one end of each artificial Christmas tree limb.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 further including spaced pulleysfor supporting respective ends of said belt and means for supportingsaid pulley at the forward end of said apparatus for rotation about ahorizontal axis and means for supporting said rearwardly spaced pulleyfor rotation about a vertical axis to effect twisting of said belt froma generally horizontal position at the forward end of said apparatus toa generally vertical position at the rear end to facilitate bending ofthe end of each Christmas tree limb without matting any filament likeneedles carried thereby.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of said pulleys ismounted for free rotation about said pulley axis whereby contact betweeneach moving limb on said conveyor means tends to frictionally drive theendless belt on said pulleys to efiect minimum matting to the end ofsaid Christmas tree limb being bent in contact with said belt.

11. Apparatus for automatically efi'ecting a positive bend to an end ofan artificial Christmas tree limb comprising: conveyor means for movinga series of spaced artificial Christmas tree limbs in a directiongenerally normal to the limb axis, first and second disks, means forsupporting said first and second disks in spaced, overlapping fashionwith the nip area therebetween intersecting the advancing limbs, meansfor driving said spaced, overlapping disks in opposite directions aboutrespective disk axes, whereby one end of said limb, in moving into thenip area between said axially spaced, overlapped disks is bent in adirection and to a degree determined by disk configuration, orientation,and speed.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said disks areperipherally notched and said driving means further includes positivedrive means coupling said notched disks to said conveyor means wherebythe speed of disk rotation is coordinated to conveyor speed.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the line of tangency ofone of said disks in the area of overlap coincides with the plane oflimb movement.

14. Apparatus for tapering the tip end of artificial Christmas treelimbs and bending an end of each limb, said limbs being formed ofconstant length, precut plastic filaments captured by a pair of twistedwires with the filaments normally projecting radially of the limb atright angles to the limb axis, said apparatus comprising: conveyor meansfor moving a series of spaced limbs in a direction generally normal tothe axis of said limbs, means for raising the temperature of thosefilaments within the tip section of each limb during transport to reducetheir elastic memory, means for bending said heated filaments away fromtheir right angle, radial position to positions generally in line withthe axis of said limb and toward said tip extremity, whereby, uponcooling, said limb is provided with a tip section characterized by afull taper, an endless belt, means for mounting said belt in the path ofthe path of limb movement and for belt movement generally in line withsaid conveyor means, means for positioning one end of said belt abovethe plane of limb movement and the other end of said belt below saidplane, whereby, as the result of contact between each limb and saidbelt, the end portion of each limb is bent at some angle to the axis ofthe main limb section.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 further including means forsupporting the forward end of said endless belt for rotation about ahorizontal axis and means for supporting the rearward end of said beltfor rotation about a vertical axis whereby twisting of said beltfacilitates bending of the end of said Christmas tree limb withoutmatting the filament-like needles carried thereby.

16. Apparatus for tapering the tip sections of artificial Christmas treelimbs and for bending the same, said limbs being formed of constantlength, precut, plastic filaments captured centrally of a pair oftwisted wires with the filaments normally projecting radially of saidtwisted wires at right angles to the limb access, said apparatuscomprising: means for moving a series of artificial Christmas tree limbsin a direction generally at right angles to said limb axis, heatingmeans for raising the temperature of the filaments within said limb tipsection to reduce their elastic memory, means for inclining the heatedfilaments of said tip section from their right angle radial position topositions generally in line with the axis of said limb prior to coolingof the tip section filaments, first and second disks, means forsupporting said first and second disks in spaced, overlapping fashionwith the nip formed therebetween intersecting the advancing limbs, meansfor synchronously driving said spaced, overlapped disks in oppositedirections about respective disk axes whereby, one end of said limb inmoving into the nip area between said axially spaced, overlapped disksis bent in a direction and to a degree determined by disk configuration,orientation and speed.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said disks areperipherally notched, and said driving means further includes positivedrive means coupling said notched disks to said conveyor means wherebythe speed of disk rotation is coordinated to conveyor speed.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the 1,346,706 6/ 1920Gill. 1,810,896 6/1931 Grubman. 1,814,712 7/1931 Kurkjian. 2,304,467 1/1942 Maltby. 2,838,789 6/ 1958 Pazandals. 3,400,195 9/ 1968 Weinberger.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 182, 19

1. APPARATUS FOR TAPERING THE TIP END OF ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIMBSFORMED OF CONSTANT LENGTH, PRECUT PLASTIC FILAMENTS CAPTURED BY A PAIROF TWISTED WIRES WITH THE FILAMENTS NORMALLY PROJECTING RADIALLY OF THELIMB AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE LIMB AXIS COMPRISING; MEANS FOR MOVING ASERIES OF SPACED LIMBS ALONG A PATH THROUGH SAID APPARATUS, MEANS FORRAISING THE TEMPERATURE OF THOSE FILAMENTS WITHIN THE TIP SECION OF EACHLIMB DURING TRANSPORT TO REDUCE THEIR ELASTIC MEMBORY, MEANS FOR BENDINGSAID HEATED FILAMENTS AWAY FROM THEIR RIGHT ANGLE, RADIAL POSITION TO APOSITON GENERALLY IN LINE WITH THE AXIS OF SAID LIMB AND TOWARD SAID TIPEXTREMITY, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THOSE HEATED FILAMENTS AT THE TIPEXTEMITY IN THEIR IN-LINE POSITION FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME THANTHOSE HEATED FILAMENTS SPACED INWARDLY THEREOF, WHEREBY, UPON COOLING,SAID LIMB IS PROVIDED WITH A TIP SECION CHARACTERIZED BY A FULL TAPERRATHER THAN MERE IN-LINE MATTING OF SAID SECTION FILAMENTS.